All posts for the day March 11th, 2009

In reading several BDRA papers and bids recently, I was struck by the small amount of overlap in their lists of references. Maybe this is a good thing, because it could mean that BDRA authors are reading widely. Or it could mean that the topics being covered were so disparate that the references had to be different.

Maybe it is a bad thing. Maybe we are not aware, when we need to be, of what our BDRA colleagues are reading that could be valuable to several or many of us.

Should there be a central BDRA bibliography, into which all references could be placed as soon as a paper or bid is finalised? I’m not a librarian but maybe there’s probably somebody in the library who could provide suitable software, including search functions.

Such a bibliography could be the first stop for authors preparing a new paper. And it could lead to some very fruitful conversations in the Paternoster or even the loo.

To end, I do have a joke about being in lifts, but it may not be suitable for a blog read by Odette and who knows who else! I’ll have to seek advice before posting it.